“A great persecution broke out in Jerusalem, and all scattered except the apostles.” Such is the history of our Church. In every age and in every corner of the globe to which Catholicism was brought and preached, others did not trust this new religion or feared it. They tried to destroy this novelty by killing its missionaries or the people who had converted. But the Church continued to grow in all these lands. In the second century, Tertullian boasted, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
As we celebrate the Liturgical Year, we remember martyrs from so many countries: the martyrs of Vietnam, the martyrs of Korea, the martyrs of Uganda, the Jesuit Martyrs of North America, the Jesuit martyrs of North America, Miguel Pro of Mexico, the martyrs of the French Revolution and the English Reformation, The martyrs of the Second World War, the martyrs of Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador including Archbishop Romero. Many of the men and women who were martyred in the last century died because they advocated for the poor and spoke up against the injustice that marginalized the “have-nots.” Pope Francis has remarked that there were more martyrs in the 20th century than in the first three centuries.
What gave these men and women the courage to endure torture, death threats, and death itself? Our Gospel reading for today might help us to understand. The martyrs believe what Jesus told his disciples, “This is the will of my Father that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life.” The Eucharist strengthened them as they saw it as a pledge of eternal life. Their union with Christ urged them forward to strengthen others by their example.
Let Us Pray:
Your Son, O God, gave himself to advance the Kingdom of peace, love, and justice. Please give us an abundance of grace so that we might have the courage of the martyrs in standing steadfastly for the Kingdom through giving ourselves to the service of others, especially those most in need of love. Amen.
